33rd America's Cup

The American team, founded ten years ago by software mogul Larry Ellison (USA), achieved its ultimate goal when they powered across the finish line of race two with a margin of 5 minutes and 26 seconds to defeat the Swiss Defender Alinghi 2-0.

BMW ORACLE Racing become the first American team to win the America's Cup since 1992 when America3 defeated Il Moro de Venezia off San Diego.

San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club become the 28th American Defender of the America's Cup.

Russell Coutts (NZL), CEO of BMW ORACLE Racing, has now won the America's Cup four times, twice with his native New Zealand, once at the helm of the Swiss Alinghi team and now masterminding the success of Ellison's American team.

In the evening twilight the giant black and white trimaran USA speared across the finish line off Valencia, a long way ahead of the Swiss team who first won the America's Cup in New Zealand in 2000 and then successfully defended it against Emirates Team New Zealand in July 2007.

After a delay of over six hours waiting for the south easterly wind to settle, race two of the best of three series was contested in around 6-9 knots of breeze.

The showdown immediately unfolded in dramatic fashion when Alinghi were penalised for an error in the start box, the second successive penalty during the Pre-Start sequence. USA lead off the start line by 24 seconds but the Swiss team hooked into extra wind pressure on the right side of the course and a favourable 20 degrees shift in wind direction.

They profited progressively and at one stage were some 600 metres ahead of the BMW ORACLE Racing Team's trimaran.

Unlike Friday's whitewash, when USA sailed steadily away from Alinghi 5, the windward leg was nailbiting right until the American trimaran was able to round the first mark with a small lead.

On the approach to the windward mark of the 39 miles triangle shaped course, USA came back when they were able to squeeze inside the line of Alinghi, to turn 28 seconds ahead. Surging to 30 knots at times on the first of two 13 miles reaches, the powerful trimaran with its 223ft high solid wing sail rig was able to gain 2 minutes and 16 seconds by the second turning mark, the gybe, going on to win by 5 minutes and 26 seconds.

"It is a fabulous experience I am very proud to be part of this team and I am exceptionally proud to bring the America's Cup back to the United States of America for the first time in a very long time."

...on his thoughts on possible venues for the 34th America's Cup in response to questions about San Francisco and Valencia:

"I think we are open to considering a lot of options. We will talk to San Francisco, to Valencia…..Valencia have been fantastic hosts to the last two America's Cups. And as you know we pushed very hard to hold this Cup in Valencia. It was not the Defender's first choice, and overall we enjoyed sailing the 32nd and the 33rd America's Cup in Valencia."

…on speculation about a Challenger of Record:

"All I would like to say is that we definitely have Challenger of Record. One thing I would like to assure people about the 34th America's Cup. There be a completely independent jury, there will be a completely independent umpires. It will be an independent group which manages the next America's Cup and there will be a level playing field for all competitors."

…on AC34:

"This particular America's Cup has got a lot of interest because for the first time in a long time it featured the two fastest sailboats in the world. And the limits of what is possible marrying high speed sailing and material science, carbon fibre, Kevlar, computational fluid dynamics, computer simulation of not only our hulls but also our wing. It was really a high tech race. And a bunch of people who really aren't that interested in sailing followed it pretty closely. And we think that is important for our sport. We think that is important to get the television coverage, to involve non sailors as well as sailors. We are going to try and make decision along with the rest of the America's Cup community so we can do just that, achieving sponsorship and funding for all of the teams from BMW ORACLE and Alinghi to the China Team and the South African Team and the Swedish team the New Zealand team. If we do our job well and work closely with them it should be the most popular America's Cup ever, the 34th America's Cup."

James Spithill (AUS) skipper-helm BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):

"What a fantastic race. Firstly I would really like to congratulate Alinghi for bouncing back today. They were coming out there swinging. We knew they were a champion team and they showed that again today. Full credit to them it was one hell of a boat race. I tell you enjoyed every minute of it."

"It was good to see the reaching race, I think you'll appreciate the boats getting together and showed how exciting it can be."

...on comparisons with his last America's Cups in monohulls:

"This one has been an amazing experience, pretty much for al the team, but especially for the sailors, Pretty much everyone on the boat had very little multihull experience beforehand. In some ways this almost one feels harder. For me personally it was a really steep hill to climb. To be able to climb that you need to have good support and early on Franck Cammas and the Groupama guys, Glenn Ashby, Roman Hagara and a lot of these multihull experts. From my point of view there was no way I could have got to that level without their help and support."

John Kostecki (USA) tactician BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):

"This is huge. I have been dreaming about winning the America's Cup for 25 years and so it is a very special moment. It is a great team and this was very much a team effort. Everyone put in a lot. It was a difficult project especially with the wing sail, and there was some testing times."

Russell Coutts (NZL) CEO and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):

"I think this was a very challenging event. Even two or three months ago I was not sure that we could have our team working effectively enough to beat these guys. I know, because I was in team Alinghi and I know how good they are. It was a fantastic effort on our behalf to have beaten them and certainly I hope to see them back and competing in the America's Cup."

...on Alinghi challenging for the 34th edition of the Cup:

"Of course we would like to see Alinghi back as a challenger. They are one of the best teams in this business, and they have proven that. I think that the Cup boats we should reach consensus with the rest of the America's Cup world. I think it would be irresponsible for one party to make try and make a decision on behalf of the everyone else. You need to put a lot of thought into this. This is a 159 year old trophy and let's look after it."

Alinghi

Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI) Team President and helm Alinghi (SUI):

"Over the last ten years anyone who has come close to the Alinghi team I guess understands what I feel now. There is a unique warmth, a unique spirit, a unique friendship that ties any person who has either worked, cheered or come close and met the Alinghi team. And so I am very proud of what we achieved over the last nine years."

"It is not for me decide the future of the America's Cup any more so I will wait and see what the future is going to bring us and where it going to take us. Then I will decide."

"We could see there was a bit of difference in the boats, but that's yacht racing."

"They had a strategy. They got a little help from the legal system in New York that always makes things difficult for us Europeans to get the same sort advantages. They were able to change their boat when they saw ours, they were able to bring a wing and they were faster. So, good on them. Maybe I wouldn't have done the same thing, but that is the America's Cup, it is not the European Cup, it is the America's Cup. The Americans have a bit of an advantage but they take the Cup back home. Let's see what happens now."

"I think the greatest achievement of Alinghi is being the first European Team to win the America's Cup."

"If you win the America's Cup you hope you are not going to be sued!"

"The best part is not actually having the silverware itself. The best part is having the team that is successful, which has a spirit, which wins and god knows if we had won. If any team that has won over the last ten years has won it is Alinghi. Now these last two races we did not win, we were disadvantaged we didn't have a boat which was quite fast enough, but with the boat we had, with the odds we had we did our best to show that we were not going to lay down. We exit with our heads high."

Brad Butterworth (NZL) skipper-tactician Alinghi (SUI):

"I think both days were real races. Unfortunately it is just two races, but I'd like to congratulate Oracle on the job that they have done, designing and building and sailing that boat. It is not an easy thing to do the change their boat, to re-mode it and to push it when they saw what we were coming out with. And to the guys in our group as well. They did a great job with the time constraints they had."

"We wanted to get the right hand side of the start line. We were a little bit bunched by the start being called so late in the day. We really weren't close enough for the time that we had and we struggled to ping the ends and then gybe round and get to our end so we got a nice penalty for free and that was two for two, so we like be even numbers, that is good. We thought we've got the penalty we will gybe round and we could not get to the starboard layline to the committee boat which is what wanted, because of the spectator boats."

"We managed to get what we wanted and I think we had better pressure on that side on that long starboard tack and we pushed the boat harder than we have ever pushed it on both tacks."